Contents tagged with peacekeeping mission

  • Media: Volker and Surkov discussed peacekeeping mission in eastern Ukraine during recent meeting in Belgrade

    US Special Representative for Ukraine Kurt Volker and Russian Presidential Advisor Vladislav Surkov discussed the introduction of a peacekeeping contingent in the Donbas during their meeting in Belgrade, a Ukrainian government source told Apostrophe news website.

    “Initially the peacekeepers will facilitate the delimitation of forces, a complete ceasefire and the withdrawal of equipment. Thereafter the Verkhovna Rada will adopt laws as part of the Minsk agreements, and there will be an exchange …

  • US representative for Ukraine Volker and Putin’s aide Surkov held talks in Belgrade

    Negotiations between Russian Presidential Assistant Vladislav Surkov and US State Department Special Representative for Ukraine Kurt Volker were constructive, RBC news agency reports quoting Surkov as saying.

    "We discussed the draft resolution of the UN on the Donbas proposed by Russia, and understanding was found on a number of positions. Most of which were recognized as surmountable," Surkov said.

    He added that both sides stressed the need to carry out the Minsk deals, with the Normandy …

  • Russia: Peacekeepers in Donbas needed only for protection of OSCE

    Russian Federation Council Chairman Valentina Matviyenko said she sees no logic in the U.S. State Department’s proposal to deploy UN peacekeepers to the border of Russia and Ukraine.

    “I see no logic in this suggestion,” said the speaker of the Federation Council to reporters after a meeting with Speaker of the Mejlis of Turkmenistan Akja Nurberdiyewa, as reported by TASS news agency.

    Matvienko brought up the fact that Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed the Russian Foreign Ministry to …

  • Rasmussen: Russia agreed to peacekeepers because of the threat of Ukraine receiving lethal weapons

    Former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said during the 14th Yalta European Strategy (YES) annual meeting that Ukraine's partners could loosen sanctions against Russia after the introduction of UN peacekeepers in Donbas with a full-fledged mandate.

     “If Russia accepts what I said - namely, giving the UN peacekeeping mission a clear mandate with full control of the Russian-Ukrainian border and covering the entire territory to protect the population, then a carrot can be given to …

  • Poroshenko: peacekeepers have to be in all of the Donbas including the areas where Russia stores weapons

    The UN peacekeeping mission should be deployed throughout the Donbas, including the territories where the Russian Federation stores weapons, as expressed by President Petro Poroshenko on his Facebook page.

    "Peacekeepers should be present everywhere, including the territories where Russia keeps weapons and on the uncontrolled part of the Ukrainian-Russian border," he wrote.

    "It would stop the flow of Russian troops, weapons, and ammunition very quickly. The potential for aggression would have …

  • Volker: deployment of peacekeepers in Donbas according to Russia’s proposal will further divide Ukraine

    The introduction of UN peacekeepers into the conflict zone in the Donbas according to the scenario proposed by Russia will aggravate the division of Ukraine, as stated by Special Envoy of the US State Department on Ukraine Kurt Volker, who arrived in Kyiv to participate in the forum "Yalta European Strategy" on Saturday, September 16.

    Volker stressed that the dispatch of peacekeepers by itself is an "interesting offer" but the international forces should replace the Russian troops in the …

  • US special representative for Ukraine Volker and Putin’s aide Surkov to meet in October

    US Special Representative for Ukraine Kurt Volker will meet with Russian Presidential Advisor Vladislav Surkov again in October.

    Volker mentioned this while speaking at the 14th annual Yalta European Strategy (YES) session, organized by the Viktor Pinchuk Foundation, LB.ua reported.

    “I have visited the conflict line in Adviivka… I hope to go to the city again on the Ukrainian side… As for the other side of the demarcation line, we will need to coordinate with those people – that’s why I met …

  • German Foreign Ministry: Unacceptable for UN to involve separatists in negotiations about peacekeepers in Donbas

    It is unacceptable for the United Nations to involve separatists in the negotiation process on peacekeeping activity in the Donbas, said German Foreign Ministry spokesman Martin Schaefer, UNIAN reports.

    “It is unacceptable and unheard of for the UN to involve separatists in the negotiation process on peacekeeping activity in any region,” Schaefer emphasized.

    According to him, it is inappropriate to talk only about the contact line, since the separatists obstruct the OSCE SMM in all Eastern …

  • Separatist DPR puts forward its conditions for peacekeepers in Donbas

    The proposal of Russian President Vladimir Putin to deploy peacekeepers to the Donbas should be discussed, stated the head of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), Alexander Zakharchenko.

    According to Zakharchenko, the residents of the Donbas "like no one else are interested in the beginning of the process of settlement of our conflict with Kyiv." He also says that the DPR is ready to consider any initiatives while also putting forward their own.

    The head of the DPR asserted that the …

  • Ukraine names its conditions for the introduction of a peacekeeping mission in the Donbas

    Commenting on the statement by Russian President Vladimir Putin reading the peacekeeping mission in the Donbas, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has named conditions the country considers necessary for the introduction of a peacekeeping mission to the Donbas. They include the withdrawal of occupation forces from the Donbas and the absence of Russian personnel in the mission.

    "Any international peacekeeping presence must be deployed by consent of and after extensive consultations with …